Be You

Dr. Senka Holzer was led to her specialty-heart physiology-by her fascination with the biochemical connection between the mind and body. After completing studies in biochemistry at the University of Novi Sad, Serbia, she moved to Graz, Austria, to attend a PhD program in Molecular Medicine from the Medical University of Graz. Soon after graduation, Senka was awarded the Austrian Science Fund's most prestigious postdoctoral fellowship for young female scientists, which led her to the University of California, Davis. While living in California, she entered the world of coaching by completing Professional Coaching for Life and Work at UC Davis and The Science of Happiness at UC Berkeley. Senka left the coach-training program inspired to understand whether disconnection from our value systems can have detrimental effects on our hearts. She organized a team of coaches, educators, and scientists to conduct an experimental study on life values and how values-based coaching can change levels of wellbeing and stress. In 2015, she received a research award from McLean Hospital's Institute of Coaching and Harvard Medical School. Currently, Senka is leading the research unit on subcellular ion homeostasis and hypertrophic signaling in cardiac health and disease at the Department of Cardiology of the Medical University of Graz. Senka lives in Graz, Austria with her husband and two kids.